Paint roller



PAINT ROLLER Filed Sept. 23, 1950 3o Baz:

Ilm III a I INVENTOR- Patented July 27, 1954 PAINT ROLLER Stanton F. Graham, Chicago, Ill., assignoi` to S. X. Graham Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application September 23, 1950, Serial No. 186,434

11 Claims.

The present invention relates to devices for applying paint, and more particularly to the class of paint applicators comprising a cylindrical member having a porous sleeve positioned around its periphery and capable of being rolled over a surface to spread the paint evenly thereover.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple, reliable and economical hollow cylinder having a perforated periphery, with a porous sleeve positioned therearound, the cylinder and the sleeve together comprising a porous chamber which may be filled with paint and thereafter rolled over the surface to which it is desired to apply the paint. In connection with the foregoing object of the invention, another object thereoi is to provide a rotatable paint applicator which will consistently apply paint evenly on the surface being painted.

Another object of the invention is to provide a rotatable paint applicator which does not leak or drip. In connection with the attainment of this object of the present invention, the ends of the outer porous sleeve are turned into the ends of the perforated metallic cylinder, the ends of the porous sleeve extending beyond inwardly pro truding peripheral beads formed in each end of the cylinder, and are compressed against the beads by cups so that the end of the sleeve constitutes a gasket between the cups and the cylinder.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a paint applicator having a relatively short handle suitable for facilitating normal use thereof.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a disposable or removable cylinder for a rotatable paint applicator, which cylinder is economical to manufacture and which may be assembled with the remainder of the applicator without the use of special tools or requiring any special skill. In this connection the present invention utilizes a rectangular strip of rnaterial, preferably metal, which is perforated throughout its area and which is bent into the general shape of a cylinder. The ends of the strip are each provided with lateral grooves. One side of the strip is deformed to form a lip, the lip being apertured, and the other side of the strip is provided with a plurality of projections which are passed through the apertures in the lip and clinched over to thereby hold the sides of the strip in cylindrical form. A porous strip of fabric, preferably pile fabric, is positioned around the cylinder with its sides between the lip and the other side of the metal strip and is 'j for clarity of illustration; and

Figure 4 is a detail perspective view of the metal cylinder.

Reference may now be had more particularly to the drawing wherein like reference numerals indicate like parts throughout.

The paint applicator is indicated in general by the reference numeral and comp-rises a cylinder, barrel, or drum I4 around which a porous, pile fabric sleeve I5 is tightly drawn. The cylinder i4 is preferably made from a strip of sheet metal, of rectangular shape, which is permanently flexed into the shape of a cylinder. The porous sleeve l5 is preferably made of cotton and Wool cloth or any other suitable material which has the property of readily becoming saturated with paint and assisting in the capillary action of the paint on the material. One side of the strip of sheet metal forming the cylinder i4 is deformed to form a lip I6 which has a plurality of apertures l'l spaced thereon lengthwise of the cylinder. The other side of the strip of sheet metal forming the cylinder I4 has a plurality of pointed projections i8, each of the projections being opposite a corresponding aperture Il. A rectangular sheet of material that is to form the sleeve l5 is wrapped around the strip that is to form the cylinder M. The longitudinal sides of the porous sheet are drawn tightly into the cylinder i4 to pass between the lip l5 and the other side of the metal strip, thus forming a sleeve, and the pointed projections I8 are forced through the sides of the porous strip and through the corresponding apertures Il and clinched over, as at I9, to retain the sleeve l5 positioned around the cylinder I4. There are a sufficient number of apertures Il and projections I3 to insure that the lip I6 is effectively sealed against the other side of the strip forming the cylinder ill when the sides of the porous strip are compressed therebetween.

The metal strip which comprises the cylinder i5 is formed with a lateral or transverse groove at each end thereof which assumes the form of an internally protruding peripheral bead or annular bearing surface Z when the metal strip is bent to form the cylinder. The purpose of this bead will be described hereinafter. The cylinder iii is provided with a plurality of perforations 2! uniformly spaced throughout its periphery. While the perforations 2l are shown as elongated axially extending apertures or slots, they may be of any other desired shape, it only being necessary and desirable that they be spaced semewhat evenly throughout the periphery of the cylinder Ill, in order to permit the paint within the cylinder lli to flow substantially uniformly to all peripheral portions of the porous sleeve l.

The ends of the sleeve l5 are turned into the cylinder il, as indicated at 22 and 23 respectively, and extend beyond the peripheral beads 2Q. I

A pair of bell-shaped end members or cups 2li and 25 are each formed with a peripheral lip 26 and with a central aperture 2l. The periphery of the aperture 2l in the cup 2d is sealed within a peripheral groove 2S surrounding a hub that s.-

cup 25 surrounds a reduced portion 3l of a hub that consists of a collar nut 32 which is threaded on the shaft 3U. The external diameters of the lips 26 of the cups 2G and 25 are sufficiently large such that the lips 2S compress the turned in ends 22 and 23 of the sleeve l5 between the lips 26 and the beads 20 in order to form a sealing gasket therebetween, when the cups 2li and 25 are drawn together in the cylinder id. The beads 2li limit the inward movement of the cups 2li and 25 with reference to the cylinder lll. cups 2li and 25 may be moved relatively inwardly with reference to the cylinder I4 by merely turningthe collar nut 32 on the shaft 3l so that it advances to the left, as viewed in Figure 2. It is thus apparent that the cup 2li effectively seals the left end of the paint applicator I0.

lThe cylinder i4 and the porous sleeve l5 together comprise a porous chamber which may be filled with a quantity of paint. To facilitate filling this porous chamber the cup 25 is provided with a plurality of filling apertures 33. A closure cup or end plate member 35i having a central aperture 25, the periphery of which is sealingly secured to a reduced portion 3% of a hub that consists of a collar nut 31 also threaded on the 5' shaft 39, is provided for sealing the right end of the paint applicator l0 (as viewedV in Fig. 2). The cup 3d has a peripheral rim 38 which engages. the turned in end 23 of the sleeve i5, and

upon advance of the. cup 34. inwardly with respect to the cylinder lli an annular portion of the turned in end 23 of the sleeve. [.5 is compressed to form a gasket between the rim 38 and the lip 2li on the cup 25. t is therefore apparent, since the collar nut 31 is sealingly connected to the shaft 30, that the right end of the paint applicator l0 (as viewed in Fig. 2) is also effectively sealed against paint leakage.

The applicator is provided with a handle il@ that may comprise a die casting, and includes a sleeve 4i that makes a sliding lit over the end of the shaft 3G until the sleeve engages the collar nut 2Q. The sleeve is then held in place by a thumb nut l2 on the threaded end s3 of the shaft 30, the threaded end 43 being preferably of The L smaller diameter than the diameter of the shaft 3f! so that the thumb nut 42 when threaded on the portion 113 can be threaded until it abuts against a shoulder 44 on the shaft 39, or against a washer which in turn abuts against the shoulder as shown in the drawing, so that while the nut acts as a stop against retraction of the sleeve lil it does not compress the sleeve il toward. the collar nut 29. There is a very small amount of longitudinal play of the sleeve ill on the shaft 3G between the collar nut 29 and the nut 6.2. The handle 40 includes a hand gripping portion 35 the longitudinal axis of which is at substantially right angles to and intersects the longitudinal axis of the shaft 36 at substantially the center of the cylinder l0. The bottom of the hand gripping portion 43 is provided with means for receiving an extension handle. One simple arrangement to that effect is by making the hand gripping portion 4E hollow at the base and providing the hollow portion with internal threads i8 into which may be threaded an extension handle il which may comprise an ordinary wooden mop stick one end of which is externally threaded for receiving a mop, which threaded end of the stick is then threaded into the threads 136. The extension handle 4E facilitates manual rolling of the paint applicator IG over surfaces that may otherwise be hard to reach, such as, for instance, a ceiling.

When the paint applicator l0 is used, it is rst assembled as shown in Figure 2, except that the cup 34 is removed. Paint is pcured into the applicator lll through the apertures 33 in the cup 25 and thereafter the cup 35 is positioned as shown. After a short period of time the paint passes through the perforations 2l and saturates the sleeve I5. The assembly is then ready for use and may be manually rolled over a surface to be painted.

By the present invention there is provided a cheap and efficient rotatable paint applicator. It is contemplated that when the sleeve i5 becomes worn to the extent that it is no longer suitable for use, the sleeve l5 together with the cylinder Ill may be replaced by a new sleeve and cylinder. The sleeve l5, which comprises merely a rectangular strip of porous material, eliminates the necessity of using a cylindrical porous sleeve which is customarily utilized in rotatable paint applicators.

1n compliance with the requirements of the patent statutes I have here shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention. It is, however, to be understood that the invention is not limited to the precise construction here shown, the same being merely illustrative of the principles of the invention. What I consider new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. In a paint applicator, the combination of a perforated paint-holding cylinder, an internal annular bearing surface at each end of said cylinder, a porous sleeve enclosing said cylinder and covering the perforations thereof, the ends of L said sleeve being turned into positions overlying said annular bearing surfaces, a shaft, means for sealing one end of the cylinder comprising an end cup at one end of the cylinder sealingly connected to said shaft and having its periphery engaged with the turned in end of said sleeve, a second end cup at the opposite end of the cylinder, means secured. to said shaft for compressing said cups inwardly of said cylinder to seal the edges of said cups with said bearing surfaces by compressing the turned in ends of said sleeve.

5, therebetween, said cylinder with said sleeve positioned therearound comprising a porous chamber for receiving a quantity of paint, the second end cup being apertured for filling the chamber with the paint, and a third cup sealingly connected to said shaft adjacent the apertured cup and having its edge sealed with respect to said cylinder for thereby sealing the chamber.

2. In a paint applicator, the combination of a perforated paint-holding cylinder, an internal annular bearing surface at one end of said cylinder, another internal annular bearing surface at the opposite end of said cylinder, a porous sleeve enclosing said cylinder and covering the perforations thereof, the ends of said sleeve being turned into positions overlying said annular bearing surfaces, a shaft, means for sealing one end of the cylinder comprising an end cup at one end of the cylinder sealingly connected to said shaft and having its periphery engaged with the turned in end of said sleeve, a second end cup at the opposite end of the cylinder, means secured to said shaft for compressing said cups inwardly of said cylinder to seal the edges of said cups with said bearing surfaces by compressing the turned in ends of said sleeve therebetween, said cylinder with said sleeve positioned therearound comprising a porous chamber for receiving a quantity of paint, the second end cup being apertured for filling the chamber with the paint,

a third cup sealingly connected to said shaft adjacent the apertured cup and having its edge sealed with respect to said cylinder for thereby sealing the chamber by having its edge engaged with the corresponding turned in end of said sleeve, and means for compressing a portion of said corresponding turned in end of said sleeve between the edge of said third cup and the edge of said apertured cup for thereby sealing the chamber, the porous chamber being effective upon being rolled over a surface to spread the paint uniformly thereover.

3. In a paint applicator, the combination of a paint-receiving cylinder having apertures spaced about the periphery thereof, internal annular bearing surfaces at each end of said cylinder, a porous sleeve enclosing said cylinder and covering the apertures thereof and having its ends turned into positions overlying said annular bearing surfaces, a shaft centrally located v drawing said cups inwardly to compress said turned in sleeve ends between said lips and said bearing surfaces to provide a sealed connection therebetween, one of said cups having an aperture therein for facilitating filling said cylinder with paint, said cylinder with said sleeve positioned therearound comprising a porous chamber, a third cup sealingly connected to said shaft and having a peripheral lip engaged with the turned in end of said sleeve adjacent the apertured cup, and means for compressing said third cup inwardly with reference to said cylinder whereby a portion of said last mentioned turned in end of said sleeve is compressed to form a gasket between the lips of said third cup and said apertured cup in order to seal the chamber.

4. In a paint applicator, the combination of a perforated cylinder having a porous sleeve positioned therearound comprising a perforated rectangular strip of sheet metal deformed to a cy'- lindrical shape, one side of said metal strip being deformed to form a lip, said lip having a plurality of apertures therein, the other side of said metal strip being formed with a plurality of projections thereon, a strip of porous material positioned with its edges between said lip and the other side of said metal strip, said projections passing through the edges of said porous strip and through said apertures in said lip and being clinched over to hold the sides of said metal strip together with the porous strip positioned therearound; a shaft; a pair of cups sealingly connected to said shaft and to said cylinder with the porous sleeve positioned therearound to thereby form a porous chamber for receiving a quantity of paint; and a handle rotatably secured to said shaft for facilitating the rolling of said chamber over a surface in order to spread the paint uniformly thereover.

5. In a paint applicator, the combination of a perforated cylinder having a porous sleeve positioned therearound comprising a perforated rectangular strip of sheet metal deformed to a cylindrical shape, one side of said metal strip being deformed to form a lip, said lip having a` plurality of apertures therein, the other side of said metal strip being formed with a plurality of projections thereon, the ends of said strip each having a transverse groove formed therein, a strip of porous material positioned with its edges between said lip and said other side of said metal strip, said projections passing through the edges of said porous strip and through said apertures in said lip and being clinched over to thereby hold the sides of said metal strip together with the porous strip positioned therearound, said transverse grooves thereby forming an inwardly protruding peripheral bead at each end of the cylinder and the ends of said porous strip being turned into the ends of the cylinder beyond the peripheral beads; a shaft; a pair of cups sealingly connected to said shaft and having their edges engaged with the turned in ends of said E porous strip; means secured to said shaft for ly connected to said shaft adjacent the apertured cup and having its edge sealed with respect to said cylinder for thereby sealing the chamber; the porous chamber being effective upon being rolled over a surface to spread the paint uniformly thereover.

6. A paint applicator in accorda-nce with claim 5 wherein a handle is rotatably secured to said shaft for facilitating the rolling of the chamber over the surface.

7. In a paint applicator, the combination of a perforated paint holding cylinder, an internal annular bearing surface at each end of the cylinder, a porous sleeve enclosing said cylinder and covering the perforations thereof, the ends of the sleeve being turned into positions overlying said annular bearing surfaces, a shaft, means for sealing one end of the cylinder comprising an end cup at one end of the cylinder sealingly connected to said shaft and having its periphery engaged with the turned in end of the sleeve, a cupped member at the opposite end of the cylinder, the adjacent turned in end of the sleeve being between the adjacent annular bearing surface and the periphery of the cupped member and being held in turned position by the cupped member, said cupped member having means at the center thereof for supporting the shaft and through which the shaft extends, said cupped member having at least one aperture therethrough for filling the cylinder with paint; and means for sealing said opposite end of the cylinder comprising another end cup overlying the cupped member and through which the shaft extends and a threaded member threaded on the shaft at the end thereof that extends through said last mentioned end cup for forcing thesame inwardly of the cylinder to form a seal around the periphery of the last-mentioned end cup where said periphery engages the assembly of the cylinder and the sleeve.

8. In a paint applicator, the combination of a paint receiving cylinder having apertures spaced about the periphery thereof, an internal annular bearing surface at each end of said cylinder, a porous sleeve enclosing said cylinder and covering the apertures thereof and having its ends turned into position overlying said annular bearing surfaces, a shaft centrally located Within said cylinder, a pair of cups each having a central aperture for receiving said shaft and each having a peripheral lip for engaging the turned in ends of said sleeve between the lips and the bearing surfaces, one of said cups having an additional aperture therein for facilitating filling said cylinder with paint, said cylinder with said sleeve positioned therearound comprising a porous chamber, a third cup sealingly connected to said shaft and having a peripheral lip and imperforate between the lip and the shaft, said last mentioned lip surrounding at least the apertured portion of the cup with the filling aperture, and means for compressing said third cup inwardly with reference to said cylinder whereby the lip of the third cup forms a seal around the said paint filling aperture.

9. A paint applicator comprising a hollow perforate cylinder, a paint pervious tubular sleeve encasing the cylinder and extending beyond the ends thereof, a shaft extending axially of the cylinder, an end closure cup for one end of the cylinder, said shaft extending centrally through the cup and being secured thereto by means forming a liquid-tight seal around the shaft, said shaft extending beyond the cup to form a handle receiving projection on the side of the cup that 8 projection of the shaft, and means for confining longitudinal motion of the handle on the shaft independently of the compression of the sleeve by the periphery of the cup.

10. In a roller assembly for paint applicators having a cylindrical drum carrying a paint pervious sleeve, a shaft having a threaded end and extending longitudinally in the drum, a removable end plate for the drum having an opening for receiving the threaded end of the shaft, means for securing the said removable end plate to the shaft comprising a nut having an internal threaded portion on the outer side of the end plate which nut is threaded on the shaft and bears against the outside of the end plate, the said nut having a shank extending through the end plate, the inner end of the said shank flaring outwardly to secure the nut to the end plate while allowing relative rotation therebetween, and the said nut applying an inwardly directed axial force against the said end plate to clamp the same to the drum.

11. A paint applicator roller assembly having a drum comprising a cylindrical barrel carrying a paint-pervious sleeve, a shaft having a threaded end and extending longitudinally through the drum, and a removable end plate for the drum having an opening receiving the threaded end of the shaft, means for securing the said removable end plate to the shaft comprising a nut having an internal threaded portion on the outer side of the end plate which is in threaded engagement with the said threaded end of the shaft, the said n ut having a shank loosely extending through an opening between the end plate and the shaft, the inner end of the said shank flaring outwardly to secure the nut permanently to the end plate while allowing relative rotation therebetween, and the peripheral edges of the end plate engaging the said drum, and the said nut applying an inwardly directed axial force against the said end plate to clamp the same in position with respect to the drum.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 352,351 Pope Nov. 9, 1886 426,859 Ross Apr. 29, 1900 841,736 Stuber Jan. 22, 1907 955,153 Graham Apr. 19, 1910 1,116,147 Smith Nov. 3, 1914 1,253,902 Steinhart Jan. 15, 1918 1,287,121 Skau Deo. 10, 1918 1,519,693 Moore Dec. 16, 1924 1,555,650 Fisher Sept. 29, 1925 1,608,207 Gammeter Nov. 23, 1926 2,004,576 Kirsch June ll, 1935 2,281,773 Kollman May 5, 1942 2,320,078 Harpootlian May 25, 1943 2,591,530 Findley et al Apr. 1, 1952 2,645,845 Vengris July 21, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 613, 188 Great Britain Nov. 23, 1948 

